Mail box



Sept. 4, 1928.

J. H. WARD, JR

MAIL BOX 'will Patented Sept. 4, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

JAMES H. WARD, JR., F BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES H. WARD & SON,

INC., OF BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

MAIL BOX.

Application led July 21, 1927.

The present invention relates to mail boxes.

More particularly the present invention relates to receptacles suitable for use in apartment buildings or other places where it is desirable to have a battery of receptacles which may be opened simultaneously by a person having the proper key and whicii permits the selective opening of each of said receptacles by a person having the key to that particular receptacle without permitting access to the others of said receptacles.

r1`he present invention constitutes an improvement over the structure disclosed and claimed in application Serial No. 10th-'1415, tiled April 21, 1926, by the present applicant.

An object of the present invention is to provide a closure for a mail box which is sturdy in construction, simple to assemble and which involves a minimum of parts.

A further object is to provide a closure for a mail box made up for the most part of simple stanipings, which may be readily assembled and which will present a sturdy construction, but which requires only a minimum of skill in manufacture.

Further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of one embodiment of the present invention;

l4`igurc 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 2 -2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 3 8 of Figure 1;

Figure el. a View in rear elevation of part of the structure shown in the preceding tigures, said view being taken in'the direction of the arrmY 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view 'taken along the plane indicated by the arrows of Figure a; and

Figures 6 and 7 are views in perspective of details of construction.

rlhe numeral 1 indicates a casing which may be made up of sheet metal. According to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, said casing l comprises the sheet metal member 2, which is bent in U-shape to form the back member and the top and bottom members of said casing l. The two side walls of said casing 1 are provided with sheet metal members 3 3. The members 2 Serial No. 207,328.

and 3 may be joined and riveted together to provide a casing open on one side. Bounding the easing 1 on its open side is the face plate 4, which may be of brass or other' material having a presentabie appearance. Said face plate 4 may be riveted or otherwise secured to the casing 1, preferably having a flange is* extending into said casing. As will be referred to hereinafter, the rivets for securing the lower portion of the face pla-te flto the bottom wall of the casing l will preferably have the added function of providing hinge pins for removably swingingly mounting a eiosure member. The easing 1 is divided into a plurality of compartments, indicated by the numerals 5 the dividing walls between said compartments being preferably sheet metal members 6 6 arranged in parallel relationship with the side walls 3 3 of the casing 1. Said sheet metal members (5 6 may be joined to the easing 1 in any preferred manner, being preferably riveted thereto.

As indicated above the rivets for connecting the face plate i to the casing 1 along the bottom wall of said easing 1 at the front thereof preferably serve the added function of providing pivot pins. As clearly shown in Figure the pivot pins 7 serve the double function of securing' the face plate l to the bottom wall of the casing 1 and forming hinge members for the ciosure member S. number of said pivot pins 7 may be provided aiong the width of the mail box.

The closure member S comprises a plurality of pan-shaped members 9 5), each of which includes the face portion 10 and the flange or wail portions 11-11. Adjacent flange or wall portions 11 11 are placed side by side.r said wall portions l1 11 being provided with aligned apertures 12-12 for the reception otl the rod 13. Said apertures 12 12 and rod 13 are located at the lower portion of the swinging closure 8. Said iiange or wall portions 11-11 are also provided with the aligned apertures M -li for the reception of the rod 15 at a region disposed perferably more than half way up the swinging closure 8. Said rods 18 and 15 serve to hold the front faces 10 of the pan-shaped members 9 9 in a single plane. Embracing the two intermediate pairs of flange or Wall portions 11-11 are a pair of folded members 1(3 16 adapted to receive the corresponding Wall portions corresponding compartment 5. Each door 28 sw.ngs outwardly of the mail box for permitting access to the interior of the corresponding compartment 5. Each door 28 will be controlled by its individual lock 30, the different locks 30 being respons've to different types of keys, the key to each door being adapted to open only its own door and not any of the other doors. As shown in Figure 3, each of the doors 28 is provided with a backing plate 31, which may be of steel or other strengthening material. Said backing plate is provided with the groove 32 near its upper extremity, providing, with the front face of the door 28, a housing or bearing for the rod 15. Said backing plate 31 is provided with the cut out portion 33 coinciding with peep apertures 34 in the front face of the door 28, whereby to afford a view of the interior of each compartment without requiring thc opening of the corresponding door 28.

The lower rod 13, in addition to holding the pan-shaped members 9-9 in proper relationship with one another, has the further function of providing a backstop for each of the doors 28. It will be noted that the lower extremity of each door 28, when said door is in closed position, engages the rod 13, whereby to define the closed position of said door. It will be noted also that the bol't 35 of each of the individual locks 3() is adapted to engage the rear side of the rod 13, whereby said rod 13 provides a striking plate for the bolt 35 of each individual lock 30. As shown in Figure 3, the backing plate 31 is swedged rearwardly, as indicated by the numeral 36, to a sufficient extent to properly position a lock 30 of commercial manufacture, so that the bolt 35 thereof has the proper relationship with the rod 13.

The rear wall of the casing 1 may be provided with openings 37 through which screws may be inserted for securing the Inail box to the wall of' the building or other supporting member. It will be clear that the supporting screws are protected from tampering under normal conditions by the closure member S. lVhen said closure member S is removed from the casing 1, it is a s'mple matter to manipulate the screws in the apertures 21, so that the matter of mounting the mail box or dismounting same is a very simple one.

The top flange or wall 11 of each panshaped member 9 provides a convenient place for marking the number' of the lock 30 of the corresponding door 28. In the event that a tenant had lost the key of his lock, the postman by consulting the number at the top flange or wall 11, could give the tenant the information necessary to secure a duplicate key.

Though a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is intended to cover all such modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is- 1. A closure comprising a plurality of elongated members having their side edge portions provided with flanges, said flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods extending through said sets of apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members engaging adjacent flanges of neighboring members to hold said members against displacement in said plane.

2. A closure comprising a plurality of elongated members having their side edge portions provided with flanges, said flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods extending through said sets of apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members engaging adjacent flanges of neighboring members to uold said members against displacement in said plane, the outside flanges of the two outermost members having end thrust relationship with said rods.

3. A closure comprising a plurality of elongated members having their side edge portions provided with flanges, said flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods extending through said sets of apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members engaging adjacent flanges of neighboring members to hold said members against displacement in said plane, said gripping members comprising folded over members extending along a substantial length of their correspondin flanges and having notches for receiving sai( rods and for locating said gripping members.

4. A closure comprising a plurality of elongated members having their side edge portions provided with flanges, said flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods extending through said sets of apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members ei'igaging adjacent flanges of neighboring members to hold said members against displacement in said plane, the outside flanges of the two outermost members having end thrust relationship with said rods, said gripping members comprising folded over members extending along a substantial length of their corresponding flanges and having notches for receiving said rods and for locating said gripping members.

A closure comprising a plurality of members placed side by side in a single plane, said members having flanges upon their four sides, parallel flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods in said apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members cooperating with adjacent flanges of neighboring members to hold said members in said plane, the other flanges of said members being provided with apertures for the reception of hinge pins to permit the swinging of said closure.

6. closure comprising a plurality of members placed side by side in a single plane. said members having flanges upon their Vfour sides, parallel flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods in said apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members cooperating with adjacent flanges oit neighboring members to hold said members in said plane, the other flanges of said members being provided with apertures for the reception of' hinge pins to permit the swinging of said closure, the outside fianges of the two ontermost members having end thrust relationship with said rods.

7. A closure comprising a plurality of members placed side by side in a single plane, said members having flanges upon their four sides, parallel flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods in said apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members cooperating with adjacent flanges of neighboring members to hold said members in said plane, the other flanges of said members being provided with apertures for the reception of hinge pins to permit the swinging of said closure, said gripping members comprising folded over members extending along a substantial length of their corresponding flanges and having notches for receiving said rods and for locating said gripping members.

8. A closure comprising a plurality of members placed side by side in a single plane, said members having flanges upon their four sides, parallel flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods in said apertures to hold said menibers in one plane, and gripping members cooperating with adjacent flanges of neighboring members to hold said members in said plane, the other flanges of' said members being provided with apertures for the reception of hinge pins to permit the swinging of said closure, the outside flanges of the two outermost members having end thrust relationship with said rods, said gripping members comprising folded over members extending along a substantial length of their corresponding flanges and having notches for receiving said rods and for locating 'said gripping members.

9. A closure comprising a plurality of elongated members having their side edge portions provided `with flanges, said flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods extending through said sets of' apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members engaging adjacent flanges of neighboring members to hold said members against displacement in said plane, each of said members being provided with a single door having a locking bolt, one of said rods being disposed adjacent to a swinging extremity ot' each of said doors to provide a door stop therefor, said locking bolt being positioned to cooperate with said one rod as a lock strike.

lt). A closure comprising a plurality of elongated members having their side edge portions provided with flanges, said flanges being provided with two sets of aligned apertures, rods extending through said sets of apertures to hold said members in one plane, and gripping members engrlaging adjacent flanges of neighboring members to hold said members against displacement in said plane, each of said doors being provided with a backing plate, each of said backing plates having a grooved portion cooperating with said door and one ot' said rods to form a hinge, each of said doors having its swinging extremity in cooperative relationship with the other of said rods whereby said other rod forms a stop for said door, each of said doors being provided with a locking bolt adapted to cooperate with said other rod whereby said other rod forms a striking plate for said bolts.

Signed at Buchanan, Michigan, this 16th day of July, 1927.

JAMES H. WARD, JR. 

